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Carla del Ponte discusses the arrest of Ratko Mladic

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has convicted former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced him to life in prison for atrocities perpetrated during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war. 

In this interview from May 2011 – held a few days after Mladic’s arrest – Carla del Ponte, a Swiss lawyer who was prosecutor of the ICTY from 1999 to 2007, told swissinfo.ch what Mladic’s arrest meant and discussed the challenges still facing international justice.

On Wednesday, del Ponte welcomed the “very positive” sentence handed down to Mladic. “It’s a relief for all the victims, who have finally succeeded in getting justice,” she told Swiss public radio, RTS. 

The trial of Mladic is the last one at the ICTY, which will close at the end of the year. Del Ponte said the tribunal had “fully carried out” the mandate given to it by the UN Security Council. “All the responsible politicians and soldiers stood trial. We did what needed to be done,” she said.

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Del Ponte hails ‘great day for international justice’

This content was published on Del Ponte, a Swiss lawyer who was prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 1999 to 2007, had previously accused Belgrade of lacking a “focused and coordinated plan” for Mladic’s arrest, calling its handling of the case “unprofessional”. In April she told a Serbian newspaper that Mladic was in Serbia “because…

Read more: Del Ponte hails ‘great day for international justice’
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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR